BLACK JOY: THE OPAL ONYX | ADANA TILLMAN

SECOND FLOOR GALLERY | JANUARY 15 – MARCH 27, 2021

Black Joy: The Opal Onyx debuts in the Second Floor Gallery to showcase artist Adana Tillman’s latest quilts, hand-dyed material, and incredible imagery exploring the vast range of self-expression, creativity and joy of individuals of the African Diaspora.

 Black Joy presents images of self-expression, identity and thought. With this body of work, Tillman explores the vast range of self-expression, creativity, and joy of individuals of the African Diaspora time—exploring patterns and hand techniques that would increase the textural composition of the work.

There are collaged fabrics from all aspects of her travels from the attic collection of her mother, to the local mom n’ pop shop and the open-air markets of Tanzania. The individuals depicted in Tillman’s work boast the individuality of the subjects and explores their search of identity. Aspects such as the hair, body language, and clothing are all chosen exclusively to the personality. Unique details such as hand embroidery and beading can be found throughout the body of work.